1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for supporting electrical components and more particularly for supporting those electrical components which are mounted on printed circuit boards and have generally circular shaped portions such as disc capacitors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For certain components having regular shapes, circuit board mounting has not presented any substantial problems. These components are provided with surfaces which abut the mounting surfaces of the board in the mounted condition. They are, therefore, stable against vibrations or other undesired movements. In effect, these components are provided with an inherently flat base which abuts against the mounting surface and renders the component immune to a great extent to undesired movements once the components has been mounted.
Many components, however, are not shaped in such a way that they have a flat base portion which mates with the mounting surface of the board in the region of the leads of the electrical component. For example, many capacitors and particularly disc capacitors have rounded portions in the region of the lead. Depending on the size of the disc capacitor, these portions may either rest on the surface of the circuit board after mounting or be above the surface of the board. In the latter case, support for the component is provided by the leads. Therefore, such larger size disc capacitors are not in stable positions with respect to the circuit board in that they usually can and do move in response to movement of the board or to vibrations thereof. Since support of these larger size disc capacitors is provided by the component leads passing through the holes in the board, this creates the danger that movement of the components; and the corresponding flexing of the leads may result in the weakening and ultimate breakage of the leads. Thus, it is necessary to provide support for larger size disc capacitors when they are mounted on circuit boards in order that such lead breakage be minimized.
One technique used in the prior art for providing support for such larger size disc capacitors is to use an adhesive and sealant such as Dow Corning type 734 RTV. The capacitors are then glued either to each other or to other components or even the circuit board itself, depending on the arrangement of the components on the board. While such a technique provides the needed support for the larger size disc capacitors, it has many drawbacks. Among these are the increased production time associated with those circuit boards having disc capacitors. The typical adhesive and sealant used for these purposes generally requires a long curing period such that the board cannot be further processed until the adhesive cures. Quite typically the adhesive is placed on the components late in the afternoon in order to allow the curing to occur overnight. Additionally, once the larger size disc capacitors are glued in place by the adhesive, it becomes quite difficult to change the capacitor if the component should ever fail. Also, as the capacitor may be glued to another component, the failure of the capacitor would more than likely not only require the capacitor to be changed, but the other component as well. Finally, the use of an adhesive to provide support gives an unaesthetic appearance to the circuit board as it is hard to control the amount of adhesive which is applied to each component.
Component supports are known. One such example of a prior art component support is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,514 which issued on Jan. 30, 1973. The structure described therein is used to provide support for those capacitors which have spherical or tear-shaped portions such as tantalum electrolytic capacitors. The socket has a nesting portion which is adapted to receive the spherical or tear-shaped capacitor portions in abutting relationship with the capacitor being supported by the socket only at the rounded bottom of the capacitor. The socket also has a base portion having a surface corresponding to and abutting against the mounting surface of the circuit board in the mounted position of the socket. The socket also includes a short projection which fits into a corresponding socket locating hole in the circuit board.
Another such example of a component support is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,301 which issued on Mar. 3, 1981. The support described therein is not itself mounted to the board. Extending from the base which has an essentially square face are four projecting fingers to cradle the component. The base has a cutout hole through which the component leads are inserted before they are put through the holes in the board. Between opposite pairs of the projecting fingers are upwardly projecting nibs or projections for contacting the bottom of the component.
For a disc capacitor, on the other hand, it is desirable to provide a component support whose sides are rectangular in shape and extend upward from the generally rectangular shaped base of the mounting socket to provide the needed lateral support and thereby prevent unnecessary motion of the capacitor. It is also desirable that the socket be manufactured from nonconductive material which is sufficiently flexible to thereby allow the sides to move when the disc capacitor is inserted into the socket. It is further desirable that such a component support include means so that its base does not abut the surface of the board when the support is mounted thereon to thereby allow both wave soldering of the component leads and flushing action for cleaning after the soldering.